Annihilator
Alice in Hell live stream
Live date: 6/29/2024
On June 29, 2024 Annihilator put on a live stream event where they played their debut album 'Alice In Hell' plus a few other live goodies. This was the first time in many years that some of these tracks were performed live and supposedly this was a one time online event although I would like a physical copy of it and I hope they decide to release it as such.
I was so excited for this but didn't quite know what to expect. I liked the idea of a worldwide event, living in a smaller city in Canada we unfortunately are left off many tours so this I had hoped would be awesome.
Because of its start time it began for me at 4pm Saturday afternoon kind of weird, but understandable since it was global and I just made sure the beer was flowing earlier than usual. What a fantastic event, well worth the ticket price which was $20 USD. Jeff Waters started the event with an hour of stories, tales of touring and kind words of the late Randy Rampage who sadly passed August 14, 2018.
One story that stood out was during the recording of Alice in Hell he over indulged in coffee as he had not ever had any before. Drinking many in one sitting, essentially blowing a hole through his stomach sending him to emergency room only to return the next day to continue recording. Jeff than introduced the players and they had about a half hour panel discussion about the album and the live stream, really cool.
When you heard the intro track "Crystal Ann" I knew we were all in for a real treat. So many highlights with the live performance which was fantastic. That recognizable intro to 'Alison in Hell' sent goosebumps up my spine, sounds so great live. A few other personal highlights were 'Burns like a Buzzsaw Blade', 'Ligeia' and the speedy 'Human Insecticide'. The band was super tight and Jeff's vocals were spot on.
There were a few breaks between a couple of tracks that gave you time to get excited for the next track. This was so well done and I kind of forgot how fast and heavy this album is, seeing it live really showcased how great this is.
They played four extra tracks after Alice In Hell, 'The Fun Palace', one of my all time favourites 'Stone Wall' from the Album Never, Neverland. The third track was 'Set the World on Fire' then they returned to "Never, Neverland" with 'Phantasmagoria' which closed out the live stream. This was a cool event and I definitely think it was a success. Being an Annihilator fan from the debut this was exciting and overdue. One thing is for sure Jeff still is a force to be reckoned with and I hope they do more of this in the future.
Jim Harrison, HMS